“Peacemaker” Disaster
29 FEBRUARY 1844
“PEACEMAKER” DISASTER
A series of advancements were made in naval gunnery in the decades before the Civil War. The commonly used material for gun construction at the time was wrought iron, being cheaper and more readily available than the alternative–brass. Wrought iron is weaker than brass, and as projectiles became larger, the gas pressures necessary to propel these missiles eventually exceeded the failure threshold of iron. The result would be the bursting of the gun tube, raking the vicinity with deadly metal shards. The tighter fitting shells of rifled guns further accentuated this problem. For these reasons, our Navy preferred smooth-bore cannon firing solid spherical shot. Such guns were effective and safe against wooden ships of the day.
Nevertheless, improvements in warship construction spurred naval innovators to develop smooth-bore guns firing larger, more powerful rounds. Independently, CAPT Robert F. Stockton, later famous for his actions in southern California during the Mexican War, and John Ericsson, who would later design the ironclad MONITOR, developed smooth-bore cannon that fired massive 12-inch projectiles. Ericsson’s gun employed a reinforcing band of wrought iron that was pounded around the breech while still red-hot. As this band cooled and contracted, it even more tightly reinforced the breech. However, Ericsson’s design, the “Oregon Gun,” cracked on its first test firing and further development was abandoned.
Stockton’s design presented an awesome appearance, engendering a nickname of the “Peacemaker.” With much fanfare, Stockton paraded his new weapon this Leap Day. President John Tyler and notable Congressional and Cabinet officials were invited to witness a demonstration of the “Peacemaker’s” firepower aboard the Navy’s innovative first screw steamer, USS PRINCETON. All embarked at Annapolis intending to cruise down the Severn River and begin the test. The first and second firings were, indeed, impressive. But CAPT Stockton had failed to properly account for the weakness inherent in wrought iron. Suddenly, on its third firing, the gun burst! The effect was devastating. Seventeen persons standing to the right of the gun were hit with flying debris. Eight were killed instantly, including the Secretary of State (and former the Secretary of the Navy) Abel P. Upshur; Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Gilmer; the father of President Tyler’s fiancée, COL David Gardiner; and Chief of the Bureau of Construction, CAPT Beverley Kennon. Stockton himself sustained minor burns. Luckily President John Tyler escaped injury! In the wake of this “Peacemaker” disaster, the Navy halted further development of wrought iron guns.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 7 MAR 24
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES: Gilmer had been in office only 10 days. He remains the Secretary of the Navy with the shortest tenure.
A prototype of Ericsson’s “Oregon Gun” survives, mounted aboard the US Naval Academy outside Dahlgren Hall.
A good example of wrought iron rifled technology is mounted outside the Command suite of Naval Medical Center San Diego–a 30# Parrott rifle from the revenue cutter Shubrick. Like Ericsson’s, this design employed an extra strengthening band around the breech. In the case of Parrott’s gun, the reinforcing band was sufficient to prevent rupture of the breech, however the energy was transmitted further along the barrel, and Parrott rifles had a disagreeable propensity for blowing off their own muzzles!
